Duckpin bowling alley torn down in wake of fire Friday

October 24, 1993|By Staff Report

A duckpin bowling alley in Glen Burnie near Crain Highway and Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard that was destroyed in a five-alarm fire Friday afternoon was torn down yesterday. Fire officials estimated damage at $3.5 million.

Battalion Chief Gary Sheckells, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, said that the cause of the blaze at the Greenway Bowling Center was still not known.

He said the fire began in a concealed open space behind the mechanical pin-setters on the second floor. Early this week, investigators will interview customers as well as the owners of the center, built in the late 1920s as a bus garage.

The fire was discovered shortly before 4:30 p.m. by a man walking along Crain Highway. He ran into the bowling center and told patrons flames were shooting from the wooden roof.

None of the occupants was injured.

Two firefighters were injured. Lt. Mike Tewey sprained his hand and Firefighter Eric Hughes suffered bruised ribs when a "smoke explosion" on the second floor sent them tumbling down a staircase. They were treated at North Arundel Hospital and released.

Officials said Friday that the 12 lanes on the second floor had not opened for the evening leagues at the time of the fire.

Chief Sheckells said that the building did not have sprinklers, and because it was built before sprinkler regulations took effect, did not have to have them, as newer buildings do.